HONG KONG (AP) ? Stock markets in Japan and China, Asia's two biggest economies, rose Monday after Japanese conservatives who favor greater economic stimulus returned to power in a landslide election victory and China's new leaders promised more spending if needed to underpin a wobbly economic recovery.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.5 percent to 9,882.98, its highest level since April, after the country's Liberal Democratic Party swept back into power at weekend elections. Party chief Shinzo Abe, almost certain to become prime minister, favors increased spending on public works and setting a 3 percent economic growth target. He's also expected to lobby for stronger action by the central bank to break Japan out of its deflationary trap.
"The outcome of the Japan election should help support sentiment in the region," strategists at Credit Agricole CIB said in a research note.
Japanese export stocks rose as the yen weakened on expectations of looser monetary policy. Automaker Nissan Motor Co. rose 1.8 percent, Sony Corp. climbed 2 percent and Panasonic Corp jumped 4 percent. A weaker yen makes their goods cheaper for overseas buyers.
In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.5 percent to 2,161.55 and the smaller Shenzhen Composite index climbed 0.3 percent to 818.28.
On Sunday, China's new Communist Party leaders under party General Secretary Xi Jinping pledged a "proactive fiscal policy" and "prudent monetary policy" in a statement carried by the official Xinhua News Agency. They were references to the willingness to boost spending if needed and keep credit easy so long as inflation stays low.
"I don't think the statement from the Communist Party is startling news, but what we see is that they still continue the stimulating policy and so I think it's good in the long run," said Linus Yip, chief strategist at First Shanghai Securities in Hong Kong.
The optimism failed to rub off on other Asian markets, which retreated slightly.
South Korea's Kospi lost 0.6 percent to 1,983.06 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.4 percent at 22,521.79. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.1 percent to 4,577.40. Benchmarks in Taiwan and New Zealand and Singapore also fell.
On Wall Street on Friday, the Dow fell 0.3 percent to close at 13,135.01 while the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.4 percent to 1,413.58. The Nasdaq composite sank 0.7 percent to 2,971.33.
In currencies, the euro weakened slightly to $1.3154 from $1.3159 in late trading Friday. The dollar strengthened to 84.04 Japanese from 83.46 yen.
Crude prices rose. Benchmark oil for January delivery was up 10 cents to $86.83 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract settled at $86.73 on Friday.
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